Friday, September 21, 2012

A Classical Dinner, 1904.

There were many events, held at
many restaurants, during the Louisiana Fair in 1904. On this day, in that year,
at that great event, a group of doctors - perhaps from a local medical society –
sat down to dinner. This is the menu for their meal:

Caviar
on Toast

Celery

----

Consomme
en Tasse

OlivesRadishes

---

Baked
Fillet of Halibut Italienne

CucumbersPotatoes Noisette

---

Sweetbreads
Larded Toulouse

French
PeasMoet
et Chandon White Seal

---

Punch

---

Filet of
Beef Richelieu

Brussels
Sprouts

---

Salad

---

Ice
Cream

Assorted
Cakes

---

Cheese
and Crackers

---

Mocha

In the tradition of such dinners
in that era, there was nothing disturbingly innovative or fancily foreign on
the menu. A fine meal was one of classical dishes, cooked well, served in the
usual sequence with the expected side dishes, garnishes, and sauces. If the
diners got bored with the same old, same old dinners, no-one seemed to
complain. I wonder how chefs maintained their enthusiasm?

I have chosen the Filet of Beef
Richelieu as the dish of the day. The filet of beef would have been served with
a ‘Richelieu’ garnish. According to La
Cuisine Française. French Cooking for Every Home. Adapted to American
Requirements (Chicago, 1893) this was a vegetable variation of the ‘Jardiniere’ garnish.

JARDINIERE.

GARNISH FOR A TENDERLOIN, A VEAL
LOIN, OR SADDLE OF MUTTON.

PROPORTIONS.

Potatoes1 cupful

Green peas1 cupful

Green beans1
cupful

Small carrots.1
cupful.

Cauliflowers carved1 cupful

Butter4 tablespoonsful.

PREPARATION.--We call
"jardiniere" a garnish made out of 2 or 4 potatoes fried in butter
and several kinds of vegetables, as: green peas, green beans, small carrots,
cauliflower cut in pieces of the size of a hazelnut, etc., each of them having
been cooked apart in some boiling water and then fried in butter. When the
tenderloin, or loin, etc., is placed in a long dish, place a fried potato at
each end and in the middle of the dish, then arrange the other vegetables with
taste in small cakes around the meat.

RICHELIEU.

PROPORTIONS AND PREPARATION.--As
for the above, No. 324, but add to the jardiniere 4 tomatoes and 4 mushrooms,
stuffed.

I don’t know about you, but too
many meals like that in a row and I would be screaming for chilli or ginger or fresh
herbs.

I didnt think of that explanation - posh food when dining out because soul food at home. And I am sure chefs and restaurants of the time would not have dreamed of presenting hearty 'peasant' food to paying guests. How things have changed.